MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, October 17 (CDN) — Violence-weary Christians in Borno state have been further upset to learn of the murder of a Nigerian evangelist by Boko Haram less than three months after the Islamic extremist group killed a Maiduguri pastor.

Already shell-shocked from attacks by Boko Haram, which was originally based in Borno state, Christians again took cover after the Aug. 27 shooting of Mark Ojunta, a 36-year-old evangelist from southern Nigeria who was ministering amid the Kotoko people of Nigeria’s northeastern state with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO). He was killed in Maiduguri.

CAPRO International Director Amos Aderonmu said Ojunta died ‘as a martyr on his field among the Kotokos.’ CAPRO had learned that all its staff members working among the Shuwa Arab, Kotoko and Kanuri peoples were on a Boko Haram list of people to be killed and had evacuated them, Aderonmu said.

Ojunta had returned to teach a class after the evacuation of his family.

‘Brother Mark took his family out on Friday (Aug. 26), but he went back to the field because he had a class with some believers on Saturday,’ Aderonmu reported. ‘It was in the night that the sect came to where they were staying and knocked at the door, and he tried to escape but could not get away.’

In his statement, Aderonmu said that four days before his death, Ojunta had received an invitation to leave work among the Kotoko people to take a position at CAPRO’s International office in London.

‘On Wednesday of that week, brother Kola Kehinde, our national coordinator in the U.K., spoke with him about the possibility of him coming to join the U.K. team,’ Aderonmu reported. ‘His response was that he wanted to invest more years into the work among the Kotokos and hand it over to believers before he can consider leaving. What a passion and commitment! Four days later, he was translated into the presence of his Master.'” Read more.

“Despite the pressures and threats on one hand and the ban of printing and selling the gospels on the other hand, Christianity is increasingly spreading among the youth and families in Iran. The word of God is making its way into many Iranian homes.

Iranian Christian News Agency ‘Mohabatnews’ reports, that according to the article 13 of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s constitution, ‘Iranian Christians, Jews and Zoroastrian minorities are the only recognized religious minorities, who, within the limits of the law, are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education.’ Article 14 also states that ‘the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Muslim citizens are obligated to behave honorably towards non-Muslims and to interact with them with justice and good ethics and that they should honor their human rights.’

But it’s not like that in the real world. The freedom and good ethics described in books is replaced by threats, imprisonments, beatings and hangings for these minorities, especially Christians. The government does not tolerate these minorities nor does it give them the right to live without fear.

According to the news published by Mohabatnews on 14 March 2011, the office of Contraband Search and Seizure along with the Revolutionary Guards discovered two boxes, each containing 300 New Testaments in a routine border inspection of a bus, and after removing them from the bus, burned them.

The rapid growth of the Christian faith in Iran seems to have caused significant concern and even fear in the hearts of the leadership of the Islamic regime which has sparked increased suppression of Christians especially in the last year. After the Supreme Leader Ali Khameniei’s speech regarding the need to oppose and silence the home-based churches, a brutal and inhumane crackdown along with numerous arrests of Christians inside Iran has been witnessed. It is shameful to see the authorities show complete disregard for the sacred Scriptures of more than two billion Christians around the world, while burning those scriptures with disrespect.” Read more.

Flashback: Iran: Evangelical Christians are ‘corrupt and deviant, like the Taliban’ – “While we were busily preparing the second round of turkey, stuffed to satisfaction with seasonal excess, the homes of more than 70 Christians in Iran were invaded. In the early hours of 26th December, armed, plain-clothed, ‘special’ security officers forcefully entered the homes of Christians while they slept, and proceeded to abuse them verbally and physically. They were handcuffed and taken for interrogation. Among those arrested were five married couples. One couple was separated from their two-year old child. Another couple was forced to leave their baby still at the breast. A number of single young women were also among those taken.” Read more.

Matthew 24:22, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”

Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering …”

Acts 14:22b, “… we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

“During a visit to Pakistan, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches has urged for the protection of religious minorities and the need for the state to take necessary measures against religious intolerance.

‘The Pakistani government should not turn a blind eye to the culture of violence perpetrated through the use and abuse of the blasphemy law, which intensify communal hatred, intolerance and persecution that can hit anybody in the country, and particularly the religious minorities,’ said the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, speaking at a press conference in Lahore, at the end of his three day visit.

Christians are among country’s religious minorities, alongside Hindus, Ahmadis, Parsees, Sikh and Baha’is, who are affected severely by the discriminatory laws – including the ambiguous blasphemy law 295 C, which has caused many lives, including of the minister for minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, this year.

During his stay in Pakistan, Dr Tveit met with church and ecumenical leaders and representatives of civil society organisations.

The church leaders shared with him how religious minorities especially Christians, ‘live in an atmosphere of insecurity. The existences of Christians have never been threatened as it is today, and the situation has gone worse in the past years,’ the WCC chief was told.” Read more.

By LAWRENCE SOLOMON – “Egypt’s Arab Spring is leading to a mass exodus of its Coptic Christian community, with Canada a preferred destination – we’ve received about a sixth of the 100,000 who have fled Egypt in the past six months amid persecution by Islamic fundamentalists.

If history repeats itself, those numbers could become much larger – Egypt has 10 million to 18 million Copts and other Christians, the largest remaining Christian population in the Middle East by far. Should their persecution continue, the great majority could well flee in what would amount to one of history’s greatest forced emigrations.

Egypt’s Arab Spring is unfolding exactly as Copts feared. Hosni Mubarak, though seen as an unvarnished dictator in the West, was a protector to the Copts. He not only allowed them previously denied religious freedoms – everything from the right to repair their churches to live broadcasts of Easter services – but he also punished Islamists who persecuted them.

In the wave of unrest unleashed by the Arab Spring, that protection is now gone. Flagrant Copt-killing began with a church bombing during a New Year’s Eve mass that left more than 20 dead and dozens wounded, followed by another deadly attack during the Coptic Christmas on Jan. 7. But the exodus didn’t begin in earnest until March; that’s when a national referendum passed constitutional amendments that effectively stripped Christians of political rights while strengthening sharia laws involving amputations, stonings and crucifixions.

Since then, Islamists have been ratcheting up their incitement against Copts, calling them infidels and accusing them of being Western spies and traitors who are stockpiling arms in plots to secede from the country. This week, more than 20 Copts were killed in clashes with the army during a demonstration over an attack on a church.

As a result of their growing vulnerability, Christians are sorrowfully abandoning their homeland of almost 2,000 years. (Before the Arab invasion of the 7th century, Egypt was majority Christian.) ‘Copts are not emigrating abroad voluntarily, they are coerced into that by threats and intimidation,’ said Naguib Gabriel, director of the Cairo-based Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organizations.” Read more.

Egypt: Islamists Boast, ‘We Won’t Leave Any Christians in This Country’ – “A group of Muslims burnt down part of a church Friday – the Islamic Sabbath – in the village of Marinab, according to a report published in the daily Al Masry Al Youm. The village, situated close to the town of Edfu in the Aswan Governorate, is located some 800 kilometers south of Cairo. Security sources said Muslims rampaged through the village in what appeared to be a pogrom, clashing with the Christian residents and destroying their shops.” Read more.

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES – “The Obama administration has been obsessed with Muslim outreach and recently tried to mend fences with the Jewish community. Given the state of the world, however, the White House ought to be focused on helping the world’s oppressed Christians.

The United States has been wary to intervene in matters affecting Christians in the Middle East for fear of validating terrorist narratives that the West is engaged in a new crusade against Islam. The result of this passive policy has been to allow Islamic extremists increasingly to dominate the debate, often with tragic consequences.

On Sunday in Egypt, a clash between Coptic Christians and the military left at least 25 dead. Copts are the largest religious minority in Egypt, representing about 10 percent of the population. Attacks on the Copts have increased since former President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. That the military was involved in this incident was a signal that matters are taking a turn for the worse. The White House issued a lukewarm condemnation noting that President Obama is ‘deeply concerned about the violence in Egypt’ and that ‘as the Egyptian people shape their future, the United States continues to believe that the rights of minorities – including Copts – must be respected.’ In other words, the U.S. government will do nothing about the massacre of Christians.

Smaller Christian communities face even greater challenges. The world awaits definitive news about Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who faced execution for apostasy after converting to Christianity from Islam. Sayed Mussa, an Afghan Red Cross worker who converted to Christianity, faced the death penalty. He was freed earlier this year after his case gained international attention but went immediately into hiding due to the public climate of hostility.

According to the State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report, the last Christian church in Afghanistan has been destroyed. The 500 to 8,000 Afghan Christians who wish to worship publicly can attend services at military bases, Provincial Reconstruction Team facilities and the Italian embassy, but there are obvious risks involved. State’s report says, ‘the U.S. government regularly discusses religious freedom with [Afghan] government officials as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.’ Considering all the aid America has given Afghanistan over the last decade, the State Department should do more than just talk.” Read more.

Obama meets Evangelical leaders, with ‘religious persecution’ as ‘top priority‘ – “Obama met with the Executive Committee of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents 45,000 churches from 40 denominations across the United States, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. NAE leaders that attended the unprecedented meeting included Pastor Joel C. Hunter of Northland, A Church Distributed near Orlando, who was a member of the White House’s faith-based initiative advisory committee; Williams Roberts, national commander of The Salvation Army; and Leith Anderson, president of the NAE; among others. The meeting was the first time that Obama accepted NAE’s invitation to meet, Anderson told Religion News Service.” Read more.

‘Meeting’ with evangelical leaders about ‘religious persecution’ is one thing.  Doing something about it is another.  Given Obama’s track record, I doubt very much that anything will come from this, aside form a photo op …

By Joseph DeCaro – “JATINANGOR, INDONESIA (Worthy News)– Muslims of the Islamic Defender Front aided by local officials recently shut down a Protestant church in Jatinangor on rumors that the church was a haven for newly baptised Christians.

Rev. Bernard Maukar, head of the Christian community, was also accused of proselytising in a predominantly Muslim area.

The chief of the village where the church is located said he had the right to close it down because it was within his jurisdiction.

‘This area is under my authority,’ said Arief Saefolah. ‘Please, get out as soon as possible.’

Saefolah and other local officials seized all Christian property, including furniture, musical instruments, and vehicles.

A Christian woman lamented that the police didn’t lift a finger to stop the vandalism.

‘Police have no guts against this radical group,’ she said.” Source.